Vic Sirjatavicius
His
greatest year in table tennis was 1953, when he became the first player in
Australia to beat Michael Sabados, who had held 78 national titles and 13 world
titles.
He
was known as Sir Jack due to his unpronounceable name to Australians. He later
went by the surname of Sirvic. Born Vytautas
on 2 July 1930 in Kaunas to Aleksandras and Barbora Frostas. He was a civil
engineering student in Lithuania and in Australia became an Insurance company
representative. He arrived in Australia with his parents,
brothers Jurgis and Liudvikas and sister Regina.
He
is remembered for his spectacular leaps around the table and whirlwind
hitting. During his early years he had temperamental
outbursts and shows of emotions. His
formula for success was fitness and long hours of practice. He used to practice 5-6 hours at a time, four
times a week. He played basketball until
an on court accident broke his leg.
Unable to return to basketball he focused on table tennis. Vic first
played in 1944 as a young refugee in Augsburg Displaced Persons camp. As a junior player he won many tournaments,
eventually playing A grade for Augsburg.
He was never coached but had the example of world class players to follow
as Lithuanian was no.3 table tennis nation in 1936.
He
was selected for Victorian interstate team and held no.2 Victorian state
ranking. He also played in a team,
Lithuania who in 1950 was 3rd place in the A grade and with
Krivickas was runner up for the Victorian doubles. In 1952 he won the Footscray Championships
and in 1953 was winner of City of Melbourne championships.
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